


I Miss The Wind...And You

by idfollowyou



Category: Chicago PD (TV)
Genre: F/M, Intelligence - Freeform, Jay Halstead Whump, One Chicago (Chicago Franchise), One Chicago - Freeform, Upstead, onechicago
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-21
Updated: 2020-04-21
Packaged: 2021-03-01 20:41:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,776
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23773258
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/idfollowyou/pseuds/idfollowyou
Summary: Post CPD 7x20; My take on Hailey's return to Chicago! #Upstead
Relationships: Jay Halstead & Hailey Upton, Jay Halstead/Hailey Upton, Vanessa Rojas/Hailey Upton
Comments: 2
Kudos: 110





	I Miss The Wind...And You

She had just exited the terminal, the recycled airport air replaced by the more comforting Chicago wind hitting her square in the face. It didn’t take long to notice him leaning against his pickup with his arms crossed, in true Jay fashion. Despite having told him this morning that she’d find her own way home, Hailey wasn’t surprised to see he had dismissed her request to call it an early night and see her tomorrow at work. 

“I’ve never met someone so terrible at following orders!”

“Who said I’m here for you?” he replied with a grin. 

That’s all it took. One smile from him, and instantly she felt at home — not that she’d tell him that. The situation leading up to her sudden departure to New York had taken her off guard, but in her own way she had come to terms with it and realized the only way to get through it was to make peace with it. Jay had been a little harder to convince, it took multiple phone conversations until he finally agreed to not pick a fight with Voight over it. 

“Get over here,” he said, grabbing her suitcase with one arm and pulling her into a hug with the other. It was quick, but necessary for them both. He put her suitcase in the truck, motioning for her to get into the passenger side. 

Once fastened back into the driver's seat, he finally said, “I hope you don’t mind if we make a few quick stops.”

“Of course not — as long as deep dish is involved,” she said, referring to their conversation from a few days ago over the phone. She hadn’t been exaggerating about the quality of New York pizza. New York did a few things right, public transportation and chicken over rice from the carts on every corner, to name a few. Chicago pizza however, could do no wrong in Hailey’s eyes. This was something her and Jay had in common. 

“Deep dish is definitely involved, we just have a quick stop to make before that,” he said. 

“I learned long ago not to ask questions in these situations.”

“I’m glad you’re finally catching on.”

The drive didn’t take long, or maybe it just felt that way because time with Jay always seemed to fly by. That’s just how it was between them. Even the most monotonous of work days, when they had mountains of paperwork to get through, never truly felt boring. A few months ago, the two of them drew the short straw with the team and had to do a 12 hour stakeout outside of a potential drug den. They spent the whole first hour quizzing each other on police related abbreviations and codes. They had tied, but Hailey was convinced Jay had cheated at one point. He denied this, of course. By hour six, they had fought over which television shows were the best, and by the end of the shift they had played an embarrassing number of rounds of 20 Questions. 

“Here we are,” Jay said, pulling her out of her reminiscing. 

“Where exactly is  _ here _ ?”

They exited the car, immediately assaulted by the Chicago wind that never seemed to take a break. He came around to Hailey’s side of the car and gestured to the beautiful Chicago skyline in front of them. At night, the city lights seemed to sparkle in the distance, making the city seem much more alive. Seeing the city like this, from a distance, was a breath of fresh air. Hailey had spent a fair amount of time chasing criminals around the streets of Chicago, so taking a step back like this, reminded her of everything she had missed while she was in New York. 

“If I recall, before you said that you missed me more than anything, you said you missed the Chicago wind. Here it is, as painful as ever!” 

She rolled her eyes, shoving him softly as he blatantly exaggerated her statement. He knew she’d never admit to missing him “more than anything” aloud, for the same reason he wouldn’t either, but couldn’t help teasing her. 

“You have no idea how much I missed this.” She said leaning her elbows against the concrete overlook, interlocking her fingers and placing them under her chin. “Don’t get me wrong, New York wasn’t as bad as I thought...but it wasn’t home.”

He knew New York could never replace Chicago for Hailey, but needed to hear her say it nonetheless. He let out a breath, one that he had been holding since the moment he found out she was leaving. It’s not the first time someone he cared about was going to work for the FBI in New York. 

“The unit hasn’t been the same without you...and I’m pretty sure Rojas killed your plant. I saw her looking up where to buy succulents at work yesterday, just a heads up!” He said, making a joke to cover for the fact that all he wanted to say was that  _ he _ wasn’t the same with her gone. He also had been waiting to expose Rojas, payback for all the teasing she had been doing the past few weeks. He hadn’t gone one shift without her making some kind of crack at him missing Hailey. Thankfully, he was quick on his feet and always managed to deflect but the knowing grin Rojas constantly gave him was disconcerting. It was similar to the look Platt had given him when he admitted to missing his partner. 

“She also made me promise to bring back pizza, so we better get going.”

Hailey laughed, “I never thought I’d meet someone who could eat as much as you, but the girl could give you a run for your money.”

They walked back to the car, Jay one step ahead of her, already opening her door. 

“Always the gentleman,” she said, both of them knowing full well that his manners would go out the window the second they got their hands on pizza. 

\---

Half an hour later, Hailey grabbed her key from her jacket unlocking her front door. Jay stood close behind her, the warmth of the pizza he was holding in his left hand heating up her back. She pushed the door open, and had barely stepped inside when she was assaulted by her roommate. The force of Vanessa pushed Hailey backwards, into Jay. Thankfully, with the pizza in his other hand he stabilized her with his right hand. 

“You guys are late!” She exclaimed with her arms wrapped around Hailey, nearly cutting off her circulation. 

“Blame Jay, I’m pretty sure any other Uber driver would’ve gotten me home sooner” 

Jay scoffed, sidestepping around the two girls and heading to the kitchen. Hailey managed to unhook herself from Vanessa’s grasp, dragging her roommate inside and closing the door behind her. 

“I hear you’ve killed Benji,” Hailey said with an eyebrow raised in Vanessa’s direction. Vanessa, who had made her way into the kitchen, turned around with a guilty grin. She shoved Jay, who was already two bites into his first slice.   
“Thanks a lot Jay” She made her way over to the windowsill by the sink and gestured to the new succulent that she had clearly replaced Benji with. “In my defense...I have no defense—but you have to admit this one is much cooler looking.”

Hailey laughed, “It’s fine Vanessa, this is when I should probably admit that I’ve replaced Benji at least three times myself. My mom has the green thumb in the family, something I clearly don’t get from her.”

By the time Hailey had gotten plates from the cupboard, as expected, Jay was already on his second slice. 

“Some things haven’t changed,” She said, giving him a pointed look and placing a plate in front of his grinning face. 

“You love it, really.” He said casually, already busy putting his third slice in the plate now in front of him. He was right, she did love it. 

The three of them spent the next hour catching up. Vanessa had a way of telling stories that brought out Hailey’s true laugh, the one she hadn’t used in awhile. Jay continually added his input into the stories, Hailey hanging onto every word. She had learned to enjoy her time working with OA in New York, but everyone from Intelligence had wormed their way into her heart. Unlike her team at Robbery Homicide, her current coworkers were her family. Once the last of the pizza had finished and they had made a dent in the brownies Vanessa had baked earlier, Hailey yawned. 

“I should head home, just because I’m giving you a pass on working out in the morning doesn't mean I get that same pass,” Jay said, getting up. 

“I better join you in the morning since I’ve been slacking these past few weeks. I haven’t done much beyond being coerced into a few early morning runs around the city with OA, and you know how I feel about running.” Hailey wrinkled her nose, the only thing she hated more than running after criminals were the days Jay forced her to join him on his morning runs. She didn’t notice the way Jay’s eyebrows went up when she mentioned the runs with her temporary FBI counterpart, having bent over to pick up the empty pizza box. 

“It’s already late, the couch is yours if you want to save yourself the drive back here in the morning,” she called from the kitchen. It wasn’t uncommon for him to do this, especially if they had been drinking after a tough case. His gym bag with extra clothes was in the truck, always making this decision easier for him. Vanessa had already grabbed an extra blanket and towel from upstairs, handing it to Jay with a knowing grin on her face. She yelled a good night to the both of them before heading upstairs. 

“I’m guessing that’s a yes.” Hailey said smiling, as she walked back into the family room to Jay spreading the blanket over the couch. 

“I’m taking one for the team, if I don’t stay you probably won’t get up on time for the gym.”

She rolled her eyes, something she did a lot around him. Hailey started heading up the stairs, tying her hair up in a bun as she did. 

“Hailey!” he called up, making her stop in her tracks, mid-step. “It’s good to have you home.” She made eye contact with him, and could see he was saying so much more. That was their thing, their eyes always managed to convey so much more. 

“It’s good to be home.”


End file.
